by Rolland Judd

Created on: January 12, 2009   Last Updated: January 28, 2009

Using a double boiler is extremely useful when you need to cook something slowly. It is a very simple and valuable technique anyone can utilize to ensure that whatever they're cooking cooks evenly and doesn't burn on the bottom of their pot. A double boiler can be used for any number of dishes but the easiest way to explain how it is used is by using the example of a tomato based sauce.

To start, you will simply need two pots that are the the same size but tapered slightly towards the bottom so they will fit inside one another. Fill one pot with just enough water so that as you place the other pot inside it is barely touching the water but not floating in it. This is your double boiler. Place it over the burner on your stove and turn the burner to a medium or high setting. Basically, you want to get the water in the first pot to just barely start boiling.

Now that you've got your double boiler in place you have a great tool for making a tomato based sauce that will light up your taste buds. Start by taking one can of tomato paste and emptying it into your double boiler. Fill the empty can with water two or three times (depending on how thick you want your sauce) and stir that all together.

Next you will want to add some salt and spices. For this sauce you will want two or three teaspoons of salt to start with. You will also definitely want to put in some black pepper, preferably cafe grind, and from there you may want to add a bit of white pepper and possibly a bit of red pepper. Stir this all in well and let the double boiler do the work for you.

Some additional ingredients that you will definitely want to put in are rosemary and thyme, but don't get the kind that is already in a shaker for you. These are very flavorful ingredients that you will want infused in your sauce so buy them fresh and chop them up yourself. Also remember that with ingredients like these less is more, so add them in slowly and taste your sauce periodically to see if you might need to add a little bit.

Now that you have a nice base going you will want to get out a saute pan to give a couple of things a quick sear before they go in the double boiler to cook. Start with some ground beef. Take the beef and shape it into little meatballs (or bigger meatballs, whatever you prefer) and place them in the saute pan to sear them.

While your meat is searing in the saute pan cut up some fresh garlic, onions, and red and green peppers. Add all of these ingredients to your saute pan just as your meatballs are almost done searing. You don't necessarily want to sear any of these items, you just want to release their natural flavors before tossing them in the double boiler.

Once your meat has a nice little sear around the outside put all the ingredients from your saute pan into your double boiler. Not only are the garlic, peppers and onions going to infuse more flavor into your sauce but all that flavor is also going to be infused into your meatballs. Remember to stir your sauce occasionally.

Now you have a very flavorful tomato based sauce you can put over fettuccine or penne noodles. You can leave extra sauce in the double boiler at low heat to keep it warm and it will never burn on the bottom of your pot. This is just one way to use the double boiler technique. The nice thing about using a double boiler is it is nearly impossible to burn something while using it, so don't be scared to experiment with it on your own.

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